Cleveland Browns playoff odds show how important the 2024 season will be for Deshaun Watson

The weight of the Cleveland Browns is resting on the slender shoulders of Deshaun Watson.

The $230 million man has yet to put together a complete season for the Browns. Between a suspension and injuries, Watson hasn't been available all too often. That has to change in 2024. There is no way around it.

Watson doesn't merely have to be available. He has to play like the star Cleveland thought it was getting when it executed a trade with the Houston Texans. He has yet to live up to that billing.

Cleveland Browns playoff odds

Following the release of the 2024 schedule, The Athletic put together playoff odds for all 32 teams in the league. Cleveland was given a 50.2% chance of making the postseason. It can go either way. Watson will be the deciding factor in the Browns' fate. What version of him is Cleveland going to get? 

With a roster as talented as the Browns boast, a poor season from Watson is unacceptable. He has to be healthy. He has to play well. There are no more excuses.

Watson has a passer rating of 81.7 with 2,217 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games for the Browns in his career. Mediocre at best.

For Cleveland to be a playoff team, Watson must be an offensive superstar.

The only team in the AFC North to receive worse playoff odds than the Browns was the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team mired in mediocrity in recent seasons. Cleveland doesn't want to be in the same breath as Pittsburgh any longer.